dimanche 20 avril 2014

Letters from the Northern Lands

24.07.XXXX

My
Love

It
is already the third day since we arrived on the islands, and still
their beauty does not cease to amaze me. As we sit in our little
shelter, gazing over the sun slowly setting in the distance, we feel
at ease. The temperature is much warmer now, and during the day we no
longer need to wear our coats. It feels like summer, even though the
higher peaks still have patches of snow here and there.

I
have been thinking a lot, these past days, about what it means to
travel, and what it does to oneself. Whether you go from city to
city, like we did together, or whether you walk into the unknown
wilderness, travel takes you away from comfort. The comfort of
knowing people, culture or places. The comfort of being able to
communicate easily, to know your way. It breaks the plans you made,
and gives you new ones. It pushes you, always, to overcome your
limitations. We leave to lose what we have, and then we fight to get
it back.

Sometimes
travel breaks us, and then takes the pieces to make us whole again.
The tiniest of things can lift our mood and make us smile, or send us
to the depths of despair. Those who say they never wavered, never
travelled. If you single-mindedly march on, not caring what happens
around, fixed only on reaching your goal, you might just as well stay
home. It is those with an open mind who travel best, letting the
voyage set the pace. Listening to the voices of the weather, of their
body or the people that they meet. Let yourself drift, and be guided
by your steps. Only then can you truly enjoy the travels that you
make.

Of
course, you need the will to see through what you have been told to
do, but not for glory or fame, not to impress or amaze. But because
you know that otherwise, you will regret it.

I
feel, sometimes, that so few people listen, even tough so many talk.
Always trying to become something else, without taking the time to
think about what they would like to be.

We
have so little time on this earth, so why squander it with haste ? We
should enjoy it as much as we can ! Enjoy the long summer sunsets,
enjoy the cigarette you smoke. Enjoy the autumn leaves falling, the
cold wind blowing. Enjoy the waiting, and the blur of action when it
happens. Enjoy the company of friends or lovers. But do not spoil it
with impatience.

Do
not try to control, or be controlled, but go with the flow, slowly,
gently. Push a bit here, a bit there, but do not try to force your
way through.

Do
not be afraid, for death comes to everyone, at any time. So before it
happens, enjoy !

These
are the thoughts that fill my mind as I sit near our small lake,
watching the geese fly gently in the sky. In a few days my friend
will leave, and I do not yet know if I should then continue south or
go back north into the wild. I feel like I have missed something
there, in our short stay, but facing the harsh cold alone, my pack
even more full than it is now, scares me. Yes, my Love, it scares me.

If
you were here now, what would you tell me to do ? Go where I must
even though I might break, or go where I want, even though I might
leave regrets behind ?

I
do not know, my Love, and I have but a few days to decide. I hope
that something will show me the way, for I am afraid I have lost it.

But
do not worry, for wherever I choose to go, my heart will carry you
along, my Love. And you shall be no burden.